A trip through cheese culture

For a cheese lover, savoring Europe means savoring its cheeses — they’re not only part of the cuisine, they’re part of the culture.

In France, a love for beauty and tradition includes a fondness for artisan cheese that comes in wedges, cylinders, balls and mini hockey pucks, and they’re sometimes powdered white, gray or burnt marshmallow.

Whether at a restaurant or cheese shop, try at least four types: a hard cheese (such as Cantal), a flowery cheese (such as Brie or Camembert), a blue or Roquefort cheese, and a goat cheese.

On your way to the chateaus in the Loire Valley, look for signs that read fromage de chèvres fermier (farmer’s goat cheese).

Or head to the Alps with a cheese map looking for les alpages, where you can taste hard, strong Beaufort or Gruyere-like Comte — and meet cheese makers proud to show off their traditions.

Early in the morning, cheese makers line up their giant orange wheels in neat rows on the square.

Prospective buyers (mostly wholesalers) examine and sample the cheeses and make their selections.

During the Wednesday market in the cheese-making village of Edam, farmers bring their cheese by boat and horse to the center of town, where it’s weighed and traded by Edamers in traditional garb.

Protected by European Union regulations, Greek feta is made with sheep’s milk, although a small percentage of goat’s milk can be added (but never cow’s milk).

Instead of pointing to a recognizable cheese that you eat in the United States, be armed with a little vocabulary (such as words for mild and sharp) in the local language.